Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Glenn Borgmann got very little playing time in 1976 or in 1977. Butch Wynegar came up and took over the Twins catching position. Wynegar was very durable and Borgmann got in a total of 41 games in the two seasons.

Monday, January 30, 2012

It isn't very often that the Rookie of the Year is traded the following season. It also isn't very often that a pitcher like Tom Seaver becomes available. Pat Zachry started the 1977 season with the Reds but was traded to the New York Mets as part of a big trade that brought Tom Seaver to the Reds.

Oddly enough, he had a better record with the Mets in 1977 than he did with the Reds. Pat had nerve damage in his elbow that limited his effectiveness early in the season.

May 26 - Was quoted as saying that the Cleveland players wanted manager Frank Robinson's status cleared up. Robinson was under fire for the team's poor play and other problems. Kuiper (and others) wanted team management to either get rid of Robinson or keep him for the rest of the season. They felt the cloudy situation was hurting the team.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Kevin Bell was the #1 draft pick (7th overall) of the Chicago White Sox in 1974. He played in the minors from 1974-1976 and put up solid numbers.

Bell came up to the White Sox in June 1976 at the age of 20. The White Sox had been trying to acquire Brooks Robinson to play third base but when the Orioles turned down the trade, the Sox called up Bell. Kevin had an inside-the-park grand slam on June 22. Kevin batted .248 in 68 games in 1976 and was considered to be a promising player for the White Sox.

Kevin was in the minors for the first 2 1/2 months of the 1977 season. He spent two weeks with the White Sox in June but was injured on June 20 and missed the rest of the season.

In 1978 Bell started the season in AAA Iowa. He batted .213 in 89 games in Iowa as he struggled to return from the knee injury he suffered in 1977. Kevin was brought up to Chicago in late July and batted .191 in 54 games. Bell was mostly used as a defensive replacement in '78.

Bell started the 1979 season in Iowa, where he batted .236 with 11 HR in 55 games. Kevin came up to Chicago in late June and ended up having his best year as a major leaguer. He batted .245 with 4 HR in 70 games.

The 1980 season was the only year that Bell didn't spend some time in the minors. Kevin batted .178 with 1 HR in 92 games for the White Sox. After the 1980 season Bell was released (at his request) by the White Sox.

Kevin was picked up by the San Diego Padres in February 1981. During spring training, Bell was traded (with Tony Phillips and a minor leaguer) to the Oakland A's for Bob Lacey and a minor leaguer.

Bell spent the 1981 season and most of the 1982 season in AAA Tacoma. He showed some power in 1981 (16 HR), but his minor league stats weren't very impressive.

Kevin was called up to Oakland in September 1982 and batted .333 (3 for 9) in four games. Bell was released after the 1982 season and retired at the age of 27.

1977 Stats:

Iowa (AAA): .306, 14 HR, 39 RBI in 49 games

White Sox: .179, 1 HR, 6 RBI in 9 games

1977 Highlights:

April 4 - Sent to the White Sox minor league camp to become acquainted with the duties of a shortstop. This move was made in anticipation of the club trading starting shortstop Bucky Dent to the New York Yankees.

June 11 - Hit a home run in his first game back from the minors. It was the only run the White Sox scored in a 4-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

June 16 - Hit a 2-run single to help the White Sox to a 7-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. The victory put the White Sox into first place in the AL West. It was the last base hit Bell would have in the majors in 1977.

June 20 - Collided with Oakland A's catcher Manny Sanguillen while trying to score on a fly ball by Alan Bannister. Kevin tore ligaments in his knee, underwent surgery, and missed the rest of the season.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Jim Rooker had several strong years as a starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1970s. He didn't make any all star teams, but he got the job done. The 1977 season was Jim's last one as an above .500 pitcher.

1977 Stats: 14-9, 3.08 ERA in 30 starts

1977 Highlights:

April 12 - Attended a school board meeting to go to bat for a student athlete who had been suspended from participation in school activities because of a run-in with a school employee.

Monday, January 23, 2012

At the beginning of the 1977 season it was thought that Don Money would be the odd man out. The Brewers had signed Sal Bando to play third base and the team was trying to trade Money for a power-hitting outfielder, a second baseman, or some relief pitching. After the Brewers were unable to deal Money, he ended up being the team's starting second baseman. He also played 23 games in LF and 15 games at 3B.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Tim Foli was traded to the San Francisco Giants in a straight-up deal for shortstop Chris Speier on April 27, 1977. Both teams had hoped to shake things up by making the deal. At the time of the traded, Speier was batting .176 for the Giants and Foli was batting .175 for the Expos.

Foli lasted through the 1977 season and was sold to the New York Mets after the season.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Dennis Leonard was a 20-game winner for the first of three seasons in 1977 and tied for the AL victory lead with Jim Palmer and Dave Goltz. Leonard finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting in '77. After starting the season 4-8, Leonard went 16-4 after June 20. Dennis went 6-1 with seven complete games in seven starts in September and October.

Oct 9 - Relieved in the 9th inning in game 5 of the ALCS with the Royals leading 3-2. He allowed two runs (one earned) and took the loss as the Yankees went to the World Series. Royals manager Whitey Herzog was second-guessed by a lot of people for bringing Leonard into the game in that situation.

Here are the results of that election. Four of the top seven vote getters were Dodgers (Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, and Don Drysdale). Although Hodges had the most support in the 1977 election, he is the only one of the four who didn't make the HOF. Hodges was #3 that year with 58.5% of the vote. Except for Hodges, all of the top 12 players in that ballot eventually made the HOF either by being voted in by the writers or via the Veterans Committee.

Jack McKeon never played in the majors. He played in the minors from 1949-1959. Jack was a player-manager from 1955-1959 before hanging up his glove and concentrating on managing full time. McKeon continued to manage through the 1964 season.

McKeon scouted for the Minnesota Twins from 1965-1967

Jack came back to managing in 1968, joining the new Kansas City Royals organization. After managing their single-A affiliate in 1968, McKeon managed AAA Omaha from 1969-1972.

From 1981-1990 Jack was the General Manager of the San Diego Padres and formed the team that won the 1984 NL Pennant.

Jack McKeon's major league managerial career:

1973-1975 Kansas City Royals

1977, 1978 Oakland A's

1988-1990 San Diego Padres

1997-2000 Cincinnati Reds

2003-2005 Florida Marlins -- the Marlins won the 2003 World Championship

2011 Florida Marlins -- McKeon managed the last 90 games of the 2011 season at the age of 80.

Record: 63-98 (.391) 38.5 games behind Kansas City (7th in AL West)

Attendance: 495,599 (14th in AL)

Team Batting: .240 (14th in AL)

Team HR: 117 (12th in AL)

Team Stolen Bases: 176 (1st in AL)

Team ERA: 4.04 (6th in AL)

Team Fielding: .970 (14th in AL)

All Stars: Vida Blue (P); Wayne Gross (3B)

AL Leaders:

Vida Blue - Hits allowed (284)

Vida Blue / Rick Langford - losses (19)

Batting Leader: Mitchell Page (.307)

Home Run Leader: Wayne Gross (22)

RBI Leader: Mitchell Page (75)

Stolen Base Leader: Mitchell Page (42)

Victories Leader: Vida Blue (14)

Losses Leader: Vida Blue / Rick Langford (19)

Strikeout Leader: Vida Blue (157)

Saves Leader: Doug Bair (8)

ERA Leader (starters): Vida Blue (3.83)

ERA Leader (relievers): Pablo Torrealba (2.62)

Players who could have had A's cards in 1977 - several of them got cards with other clubs:

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Dock Ellis pitched for three teams in 1977. He started with the New York Yankees and pitched well. Ellis was traded to the Oakland A's on April 27 and he struggled with the A's. On June 15 Dock was sold to the Texas Rangers, where he bounced back.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Jim "Catfish" Crawford was a reliever for the first four months of the 1977 season. He became a starter in August (while also making a few relief appearances) and made seven starts in August and September.

1977 Stats: 7-8, 4.79 ERA in 37 games (7 starts)

1977 Highlights:

June 21 - Earned his first American League win after relieving starter Dave Rozema in the third inning. Rozema developed a sore right shoulder and had to be taken out. Crawford finished the game and the Tigers beat the New York Yankees 5-2.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Joaquin Andujar was an effective pitcher who was known more for his temper than for his pitching prowess.

Joaquin started pitching in the minors in the Cincinnati Reds organization in 1970, when he was 17 years old.

Andujar continued to toil in the minors until he was traded to the Houston Astros for two minor leaguers after the 1975 season.

He got his chance to pitch in the majors with the Astros in 1976 and in his rookie season went 9-10 with a 3.60 ERA in 25 starts.

In 1977

In 1978 Andujar was off to a good start (3-4, 3.07 ERA) when he pulled a left leg muscle on June 17. He was out until July 30. After he came back, Andujar was a reliever for the remainder of the season. Joaquin ended up with a 5-7 record, four saves, and a 3.42 ERA.

Joaquin shuffled between the bullpen and the rotation in 1979. He made two starts and 18 relief appearances in the first two months of the season, then was a starter until early September. Andujar pitched well enough to be selected to the NL All Star team. Joaquin pitched the second and third innings and allowed two runs. Andujar was 12-12 with a 3.43 ERA in the 1979 season.

In 1981 Andujar started slowly with the Astros. He was 2-3 with a 4.94 ERA when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on June 7 for Tony Scott. Andujar pitched better (6-1, 3.74 ERA) after the trade.

Joaquin became a full-time starter for the Cardinals in 1982 and he proved he belonged there. In the regular season Andujar was 15-10 with a 2.47 ERA and finished 7th in NL Cy Young Award voting. Joaquin was selected as NL Pitcher of the Month for September after he went 5-0 during the month. He started and won game 3 of the NLCS and then won games 3 and 7 of the World Series. After the 7th inning of game 7 of the World Series Andujar had to be restrained from going after Milwaukee infielder Jim Gantner after Gantner called Joaquin a "hot dog."

Andujar had a reversal of fortune in 1984. His record slipped to 6-16 and his ERA rose to 4.16 ERA.

Joaquin had his best season in 1984. He led the NL with 20 wins and 4 shutouts. Andujar went 20-14 with a 3.34 ERA, finished 4th in NL Cy Young Award voting, won a Gold Glove, and was selected to the NL All Star team (he didn't pitch in the game).

Andujar had a near carbon copy of his 1984 season in 1985. He went 21-12 with a 3.40 ERA and finished 4th in NL Cy Young Award voting. Joaquin was selected to his fourth NL All Star team but didn't pitch in the game. He felt insulted because NL manager Dick Williams said he wouldn't name a starter until after Friday's games. Joaquin felt that he shouldn't have had to prove himself and that his 15-3 record should speak for itself. He also led the NL in hit batsmen for the second year in a row.

Joaquin fell off during the second half of the 1985 season and he wasn't able to turn things around in the postseason. He started two games in the NLCS and was 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA. He started and lost game 3 of the World Series and then was involved in an ugly incident during game 7. He was put in the game in the 5th inning to mop up as the Kansas City Royals had a big lead. He and umpire Don Denkinger got into a shouting match after a disputed pitch call and Joaquin and Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog were eventually ejected from the game.

In 1986 Andujar was 13-7 with a 3.82 ERA. It was his last full season. Joaquin missed about six weeks with an injury in June and July.

Andujar started only 13 games in 1987 and didn't pitch after August 3. He ended up with a 3-5 record and a 6.08 ERA. Joaquin became a free agent after the 1987 season and signed with the Astros.

Joaquin made 23 appearances (10 of them starts) in 1988 and was 2-5 with a 4.00 ERA. Andujar also spent some time in the minors as he tried to recover from rib and knee injuries. He became a free agent after the season but wasn't signed by anyone.